Do you Agree or Disagree with the following statements:

1. Every woman has the right to choose to terminate a pregnancy regardless of when during the pregnancy. I’m conflicted, but I think my answer is ‘yes.’ If the baby could survive unassisted outside the womb, I feel uncomfortable about aborting the pregnancy. But, ultimately, that’s such a tricky thing to define I’d rather err on the side of the woman’s rights, not the baby’s.

2. Abortion should be allowed even beyond 24 weeks of pregnancy. Yes.

3. Parental consent should be required for any teen under the age of 18 requesting an abortion. No.

4. Women who have more than 5 abortions are irresponsible. Not inherently – everyone’s situation is different.

5. Women who have more than 10 abortions are irresponsible. Same as above.

6. Women should not use abortion as a form of birth control. I agree, but I don’t think there should be legislative actions or rules in place to push women in that direction.

7. I think reproductive health advocacy organizations should promote the use of emergency contraception in order to decrease the number of abortions in the US each year. Yes, but not because of reducing abortions is, in and of itself, a “good” goal. Rather, there are (to my limited understanding) a safer, less expensive way of preventing and aborting the pregnancy.

8. I feel uncomfortable if a woman has an abortion because of the gender of the pregnancy. I do. But (like number 6) I can’t imagine a legit way to legislate this out of existence that doesn’t cause more problems than it prevents.

9. Male partners should have the right to be a part of the decision to terminate a pregnancy. Erg. I think women (usually) have a moral imperative to bring the male partner into the discussion, but I don’t think that should be put into law.

10. I think a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion is an absolute and inalienable right no matter what.

I mean, I can think of ridiculous situations where I’d say “no, it’s not a right.” If aliens came and impregnated a woman with their baby and said they’d destroy the world unless she carried the child to term, sure. Lets prevent her from aborting to save the human race. But I can’t think of any real-world scenarios where I don’t think abortion should be an absolute right.

One more activity to sit with is an open-ended finish the sentence:

1. Abortions are: a medical procedure that we as a culture should simultaneously work to reduce their necessity – by encouraging people to use birth control – and work to reduce their stigma – by increasing education and access.

2. Women who have abortions are:. Period. I think that’s a complete sentence.

3. A woman facing an unwanted pregnancy needs to: I don’t really like sentences that have “need” in them. She “needs” to be able to have access to a healthcare system that will allow her to make an informed decision and not go into debt as a result.

4 Responses to “Pro-choice Survey via the Abortioneers”

I’m intrigued by your implying that you might consider the cut off point for whether the abortion should happen as whether the foetus can survive unassisted outside the womb. What’s your logic behind that? I’m guessing it’s to do with how the foetus is using the pregnant person’s body as life support, but I’m not quite sure how that would lead to a conclusion that as soon as it no longer needs the person it shouldn’t be deprived of it. Myself, I’m uneasy about the idea of judging right to life on whether one can survive unassisted – there are plenty of people who can’t live without medical assistance. Would you mind explaining your reasoning? (Disclaimer: I’m pro-choice)

I assume you’re asking about question #1? I completely agree that judging what “unassisted” means is a ridiculously complicated question. That’s why, in the end, I do think that every woman has the right to choose to abort the pregnancy at any stage or date. But aborting the pregnancy when the fetus could survive without assistance makes me uncomfortable for purely emotional reasons, having nothing to do with the logic of that reaction.

As you said, there are large numbers of people in hospitals (and outside of hospitals) who can’t survive without medical assistance. Somehow having that as a classification for any sort of treatment is unreasonable and seems like it would lead to no good end. That’s why I tried to separate my answer into two parts: my initial, gut reaction, and my ultimate view on what the legality of the situation should be.

Thanks for the question, and for making me think through my answer a little more clearly. Let me know if I haven’t responded to what you were asking, though.

Wow; my sentiments exactly. I never got the “abortion as a form of birth control” sentiment however. I had two abortions and they are prohibitively expensive. Most women who opt for birth control go along with other methods…since it is a much cheaper approach. If anything, there needs to be more programs and opportunities to give women access to birth control and affordable health care in general.